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. . I , . ! IN THE RACING LIMELIGHT Jockey Parke Monopolizing Attention at New Orleans Expert Opinion of Rider. NEW ORLEANS, La., Jan. 21. Jockey Parke is monopolizing the racng limelight here this winter. He has been the cause of considerable controversies. His admirers are legion, but, notwithstanding, every once it? awhile some one will take exception to the appellation of "great" when mentioned in Parkes connection. One critic here, usually regarded as ultra conservative in his opinion and a close observer, had the following ancnt the rider: ; "Dont let anyone tell you jockey Parke is a flash in the pan, that he will blow up just as Cliff Robinson, Willie Crump, Johnny ! Corcoran and a few others blew up after I leaving here. j "Astute horsemen all agree Parke looks like one of the best riders they ever saw, j and there are grounds for such a belief. I "The trouble is every time Parke is beaten on a horse some one will say: Thats Parke, been having a lot of luck and been getting a lot of help, but a close observer of racing will see that Parke gets every ounce of good I out of nineteen of twenty horses he rides. I "Being a human being Parke has made i mistakes. The marvel is that he doesnt make more mistakes ; that the glamor of his I popularity has not made him overanxious or overconfident." i "Any time a kid of Parkes experience and slight figure can handle all sorts of horses as he does there will be another great rider in prospect. ! "Parke is the best bet of the winter sea-j son. His apprentice bug gives Jiim five ! ! j pounds, and he perhaps is another ten pounds better than any rider here, taking everything t I ! into consideration. He has no peculiarities, j j rides well in sprints or long-distance races, j gets away from the post well and is perfectly! 1 cool on a horse whether setting the pace or! coming up from the rear. He simply moulds himself on top of his horse and fits in with that particular horses style and temperament. ,j "And, oh, yes, he has one peculiarity; some I call it that, but that probably is another of I his many good points; he selelom uses a ,whip. j "Which reminds us of what Earl Sande i once told a friend: Any time you see me hit my horse with the whip, give tip hope; Im beaten and am hitting not because I think it will do him any good but just because I every other course of action has failed and Im using the whip so no one can say I didnt exhaust every means to try to win. "The whip means nothing to nine out of ten thoroughbreds. Most of them are only hurt by it, especially when a weak boy applies it, because he usually drops his mounts head and sets him to sprawling all over the track. "How many riderless thoroughbreds have you seen coming .-flown to the finish line straining every muscle and sinew to finish in L front of the field, when no one was whipping j them." i
